{"id":5639,"date":"2025-01-20T16:17:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T16:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/20\/mcintosh-pays-tribute-to-calypsonian-temple-of-hold-the-cock-and-pullet-fame\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T16:17:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T16:17:23","slug":"mcintosh-pays-tribute-to-calypsonian-temple-of-hold-the-cock-and-pullet-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/20\/mcintosh-pays-tribute-to-calypsonian-temple-of-hold-the-cock-and-pullet-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"McIntosh pays tribute to calypsonian Temple of \u2018Hold the Cock and Pullet\u2019 fame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pre-eminent Caribbean soca-calypso arranger Frankie McIntosh on Monday paid tribute to Vincentian calypsonian Fitzroy “Temple” Edwards\u00a0 of \u201cHold the Cock and Pullet\u201d fame, who succumbed to cancer on <\/span>Nov. 24<\/span>. He was 73.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTemple was part of a New York-based group of Vincentian calypsonians, which emerged in the mid-1980s,\u201d the Brooklyn-based, Vincentian-born McIntosh told <\/span>Caribbean Life<\/span><\/strong> exclusively, disclosing that Walter Porter, Darwin David, Annice Caruth, and Dan Simon \u2013 all deceased \u2013 were also members of the group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach artist recorded at his\/her own expense, and, although not every song made the charts, many were well received by Caribbean communities in New York and beyond,\u201d he added, stating that \u201cTemple\u2019s \u2018Hold the Cock and Pullet\u2019 \u2013 double entendre evident \u2013 was an instant success.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe song\u2019s title and storyline exemplified Temple\u2019s jovial personality \u2013 \u00a0always with a mischievous smile and witty comment,\u201d McIntosh continued. \u201cAs the musical arranger of the song, I do recall that no one in the studio could keep a serious face while Temple recorded his lead vocals, demonstrating in the process how one should \u2018hold the cock\u2019.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Daneth \u201cDoppy\u201d Dopwell, who owns a recording studio in Brooklyn, also told <\/span>Caribbean Life<\/span><\/strong> that Temple, a Brooklyn resident, had toured Canada with his defunct Vincentian band, Asterisks, in the 1980s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a lot of recordings with us,\u201d said Dopwell, who had played the rhythm and lead guitars with Asterisks. \u201cHe was a good writer, and he was funny, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my real buddy; he was always cool,\u201d added Dopwell, who paid his last respects to Temple at a funeral service in Brooklyn, at Harmony Funeral Home on Clarendon Road, on <\/span>Dec. 7<\/span>, and at the final one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on <\/span>Dec. 22<\/span>, where Temple\u2019s body <\/span>was afterward interred<\/span> at the Fitz Hughes Cemetery in his home town of Chateaubelair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dopwell said distinguished Vincentian calypsonian Alston \u201cBecket\u201d Cyrus was among mourners at the final funeral service at Mt. Bethel Baptist Church in Sharpes, Chateaubelair.<\/span><\/p>\n

He disclosed that he had also recorded some of Temple\u2019s yet-to-be-released songs last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides \u201cHold the Cock and Pullet,\u201d Dopwell said \u201cCow Itch\u201d was another popular Temple song.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vincentian calypsonian Oscar James, a founding member of the Vincentian Entertainers\u2019 Guild of North America in the 1980s, said Temple was also a group member.<\/span><\/p>\n

James said other founding members of the entertainers\u2019 guild included Becket, Winston Soso, Darwin David, Tommy T, Walter Porter, Dan Simon, Cauldric Forbes, and broadcaster Don Bobb.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a very affable guy \u2013 very harmonious, very attentive when we had meetings,\u201d said James, a member of the Dynamites Calypso Tent, the lone Vincentian calypso tent in North America, about Temple.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe always loved to ask questions \u2013 good songwriter, good performer on stage,\u201d added James, a co-founder of the defunct Affetuosos musical band in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who attended Temple\u2019s funeral service in Brooklyn. \u201cThe audience always loved him \u2013 compelling performer on stage, crowd pleaser.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe crowd always looked forward to Temple\u2019s performance, especially \u2018Hold the Cock and Pullet,\u2019\u201d he continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Temple's

Temple’s first child, Joycelyn King, reads the obituary. <\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

According to the obituary \u2013 read at the funeral service in Brooklyn, presided over by Chateaubelair native Pastor Wilmouth Seaton, by Temple\u2019s first child, Joycelyn King, who resides in Toronto, Temple, whose real name was Fitzroy Cornelius Edwards, was born on <\/span>April 26<\/span>, 1951 in Chateaubelair to Albertha Derrick and Webster Walker (deceased).<\/span><\/p>\n

After completing his elementary education at the Chateaubelair Methodist School, Temple migrated to Trinidad and Tobago, where he honed his skills in masonry.<\/span><\/p>\n

The obituary says that Temple was \u201ca man of many talents\u201d and that he performed as a \u201ccalypso artist,\u201d with \u201cHold the Cock and Pullet\u201d being one of his hit songs in 1985.<\/span><\/p>\n

After Temple migrated to New York in 1985, the obituary says he continued to work as a mason while singing calypsos part-time, retiring from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) after 25 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe lived a quiet and personal life,\u201d the obituary says. \u201cHis pleasant personality was contagious to everyone he interacted with, and he made friends everywhere he went.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe passed away on <\/span>Nov. 24<\/span>, 2024, after a courageous battle with cancer,\u201d it adds. \u201cHe was surrounded by his loved ones, who will continue to honor his legacy by living their lives to the fullest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the funeral service in Brooklyn, an MTA worker, who gave his name as Eddie, spoke on behalf of his colleagues who paid their last respects. He said Temple was \u201ca real mason.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFitz (Temple) was a very hard worker,\u201d he said. \u201cHe loved his family, and he loved St. Vincent and the Grenadines.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Temple's

Temple’s son, Fitzroy James, eulogizes his dad.<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

In eulogizing his dad at the funeral service in Brooklyn, where Pastor David Charles also officiated, Fitzroy James said: \u201cI appreciate all that he had done for me. I love you, dad. May his soul rest in peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Temple was preceded in death by his daughter Simone and brother Noel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides his mother Alberta Derrick, son Fitzroy, and daughter Joycelyn, Temple <\/span>is survived<\/span> by his other children \u2013 Cherryann, Fitzbert, Nyasha, Jesselle, and Ayanna; grand-children \u2013 Isaac, Yannick, Malia, Kelis, Brandon, Danion, Olivia, and Scotlyn; siblings \u2013 Viola, Jestina, Susan, Kendrick and Norris; and many other relatives and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pre-eminent Caribbean soca-calypso arranger Frankie McIntosh on Monday paid tribute to Vincentian calypsonian Fitzroy “Temple” Edwards\u00a0 of \u201cHold the Cock and Pullet\u201d fame, who succumbed to cancer on Nov. 24. He was 73. \u201cTemple was part of a New York-based group of Vincentian calypsonians, which emerged in the mid-1980s,\u201d the Brooklyn-based, Vincentian-born McIntosh told Caribbean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5639\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}